Break in at car dealers

The robbers struck in the early hours of Monday morning, stealing tyres, tools and cash from Frank Gardiner Car Sales on Acres Road.

The empty tyre store at Gardiner Car sales. INLM3112-112gc

One of the employees lost £8,000 worth of tools he’d built up over the years. The thieves also stole £4,000 to £5,000 worth of tyres from a store. They also got away with a small amount of cash from the office.

A member of staff told the ‘MAIL’: “They came in the back way at 1.40am. From the CCTV we can see there was three of them, wearing balaclavas.

“They broke into the workshop first and stole tools, then used a screwdriver from the tool kit to break into the tyre store and clean it out.

“They broke into the main office and found the keys to the van. They stole our own van and took off over the fields out the back. By the looks of it they got bogged down a few times.

“They knew their way about the place. They even stole the battery pack to start the van. “They knew what they were after and knew where to go looking for it.”

The ‘MAIL’ has learnt that the tools stolen were from the Snap-On brand and will stand out as very distinctive to anyone in the trade.

The Iveco van used for accident repairs has yet to be recovered and also bears very distinctive logos from the company.

Despite the major setback the company is open for business as usual.

Police in Lurgan are investigating the burglary.

They have appealed to anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the vehicle or who saw anything suspicious in the immediate vicinity around the time of the burglary or anyone who has information about the incident to contact them at Lurgan on 0845 600 800 or alternatively contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.